'George Herbert: Hymns New and Old'
This new, unique CD has just been released. It has been commissioned by The George Herbert in Bemerton Group, and includes 22 hymn settings of George Herbert's poetry. Most of these are original new settings by modern composers.
'Another Music'
Hymns New and Old CD
The hymn settings of some of George Herbert's poems are well known to Christian worshippers - 'Teach me, my God and King' ('The Elixir'), 'King of Glory, King of Peace' ('Praise 2'), 'The God of Love my Shepherd Is' ('The 23rd Psalm') and 'Let All the World' ('Antiphon').
In 2007 the Group, then known as 'Summer Events with George Herbert', invited a number of composers to write hymn tunes for other selected poems in Herbert's 'The Temple', which were included subsequently in a special hymnbook with the title 'Another Music'. The hymnbook was published on behalf of the Group by the Royal School of Church Music. Copies are obtainable through the Gift Shop.
The intention was to raise greater public awareness of these poems and to show how much of Herbert's poetry, being devotional in character, lends itself to this kind of musical treatment - after all, he was himself an accomplished musician who is known to have composed settings of his own poems, although sadly none of these settings has survived.
The Recording
CD Track List
It had long been the Group's ambition to have a recording made of the new hymns, and this has now been realised with the commissioning of the new CD. The singers are the Salisbury-based choir Sarum Voices, under the direction of Benjamin Lamb, with organ accompaniment from Cathy Lamb. The hymns were recorded over a single weekend in August 2011 at St. Martin's Church in Salisbury.
The modern composers represented are Barry Ferguson, David Halls, Edmund Hampton, Grayston Ives, Simon Lole, Howard Moody, Alec Roth and Richard Shephard. All of the new compositions are included, together with hymn settings by Orlando Gibbons and Alexander Brent Smith. There are also familiar hymn tunes by Charles Collignon, Basil Harwood and Joseph D.Jones.
Track Samples
Discipline (Barry Ferguson) |
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Matins (David Halls) |
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Gratefulness (Edmund Hampton) |
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Whitsunday (Grayston Ives) |
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Denial (Simon Lole) |
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A True Hymn (Howard Moody) |
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The Flower (Alec Roth) |
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The Dawning (Richard Shephard) |
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The Elixir (Orlando Gibbons) |
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The Call (Alexander Brent Smith) |
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Praise 2 (Joseph D Jones) |
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The 23rd Psalm (Charles Collignon) |
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Antiphon (Basil Harwood) |
How to Buy
We recommend that you order the CD direct from us using the Gift Shop on this website. However, if you wish to obtain it elsewhere, it is on the VIF Records label, catalogue number VRCD077.